Traveling Soldier
by TheGirlOfManyObsessions
Summary: A bell sounded throughout the small diner as a handsome young man walked in, fully clad in army greens. The raven looked up to be met with sparkling blue and the warm smile of a young man. SasuNaru/Shonen-ai/2-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**HEY GUYS!! I just had a HUGE plot bunny, thanks to my cousin's awesome taste in music, so I thought I'd just start typing now. I am (was) currently in my grandma's car, coming home from a little trip. Then my cousin, Katie, turned on Traveling Soldier by the Dixie Chicks, and I got a HUGE burst of inspiration. **

**Now, POTF, if you're reading this, I kinda stole your idea with this… *laughs* … Sorry, Pay-chan! Love you! *shot***

**There are usually two implications to how this song ends: The soldier comes home, or he dies. But considering this is Sasuke and Naruto, there's no way I could kill off Sasuke. I just love SasuNaru too much make Naruto cry and have him be upset. So I chose the happy ending! **

**Warning: For those of you who do not agree with the war or support our soldiers please leave this story. I really don't care to hear your complaining because my grandpa, uncle, family friend, and cousin were in wars at one point in their life. The family friend died in Iraq about 3 years ago, but I was so proud of him and cried and I didn't even really know him that well.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sasuke or Naruto and their obvious yaoi-ness. Oh how Kishi-san tourtures us so...**

**ENJOY!!**

* * *

'_Ding ding'_

A bell sounded throughout the small diner as a handsome young man walked in, fully clad in army greens and boot, bags and supplies in his arms and shoulders. He shook the rain out of his raven hair, but couldn't help it when if fell into his eyes a bit, after giving up on trying to pull it out of his face. The young man looked around the small restaurant before finding a booth in the back of the restaurant. He only had 4 hours before his bus would arrive.

After making himself comfortable on the smooth vinyl, he took another look around. Records adorned the walls, stools at the bar, a colorful jukebox on the far wall. The restaurant had an old time diner air to it, giving him a very homey feeling. Of course it wouldn't last long…

Rain was pouring outside of the windows.

"Excuse me, sir."

The raven looked up to be met with sparkling blue and the warm smile of a young man. "Would'ya like something to drink?"

The young soldier was momentarily stunned before blinking and looking back down at the table.

"I'll take a coffee, please," he mumbled.

The blonde looked at him quizzically before brushing it off and jotting it down. "Will there be anything else?" he asked softly.

The raven shook his head. But just before the other man was out of reach, he grabbed onto his elbow.

"Umm… Actually..." he started nervously. He gulped and continued. "Do you think you could sit down with me for a little bit? I-I'm feeling a bit lonely right now…"

The other man looked down at him, blushing, a sight in which the raven found fascinating, confused and stunned, before he finally took in the greens and suitcases and understood. He looked around for a little bit at the clock before looking back. "I get off in about an hour. And how 'bout we go somewhere else? I know a really nice place around here where we can go."

"Of course," the other said and before the blonde walked of, he asked "What's your name?"

"Naruto; Naruto Uzumaki," he said with a smile.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

The thunder rumbled one last time.

As the hour passed, Sasuke watched Naruto bustle around the small diner. He felt strange, looking at the blonde. Like, whenever Naruto would look at him, he'd quickly turn away, heat rising to his cheeks, something that he rarely ever felt, before peeking out of the corner of his eye. After a while, they started teasing each other with it, laughing when each person caught the other staring.

All the while, Sasuke was noticing more and more about Naruto. How his eyes sparkled with light and gentle happiness, how his hair was a bright yellow gold that put the sun to shame, his slightly sun kissed tan skin. Sasuke started feel, whenever he saw Naruto smile, a strange and slow chill run up his spine. He was marveled by how white and gleaming his teeth were, how beautiful it was.

His mind was racing with sudden confusion, yet understanding and realization that he didn't notice that the hour had passed him by. He was broken from his ravine when a hand wove in front of his face and he looked up to see a smiling Naruto, dressed in distressed jeans, t-shirt with a black jacket and chucks. Sasuke blinked and sniffed.

"So… ready?" He asked smiling gently.

Sasuke nodded. While picking up his bags, Naruto was saying his goodbyes to fellow workers. When he was finished, he saw the blonde blushing and glaring playfully at an older woman and a young girl around their age, who was smirking slightly at him.

"What was that about?" Sasuke asked, bringing Naruto back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, uh, just Tsunade and Sakura being… yeah…" He quickly walked past the raven and stopped at the door. "You coming?"

Sasuke followed him out the door, dropping his bags off at his car before walking down the empty road with Naruto.

"So who were those women?" He asked.

Naruto laughed and his eyes sparkled brightly. _Beautiful_, Sasuke thought.

"Tsunade… How do I describe her? Well, simply put, she's like a mother to me. I, uh… lost my parents when I was a baby…"

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. He, himself, had lost his parents when he was very young. All he had left was his older brother, Itachi, before he had passed away from a very rare disease, leaving Sasuke distraught and alone. He was now the last of his family.

"Anyway, she's always been there for me for as long as I can remember. In fact, I can't really remember what my parents looked like … Well, aside from this picture." Naruto reached into his wallet and pulled out a piece of paper that looked very worn and folded and unfolded many a time. Naruto handed him the paper and revealed a picture of a man, a woman, and a very blonde baby. They looked very happy; a beautiful family.

"She looks very beautiful," Sasuke said.

"She was," Naruto said. Sasuke looked to see Naruto laughing, but his eyes told a very different story.

"And your father looks just like you."

"Ha! Nah, I look like him." Sasuke noticed his eyes held a soft look to them, almost heartbroken. He looked back at the picture.

"You were a very beautiful baby," he said without hesitation.

Naruto blushed bright red and playfully punched him in the shoulder before walking on, not knowing what to say. What Naruto didn't know was that Sasuke meant every word of what he had said.

They walked on, most of the time in silence. But it wasn't really awkward; in fact, it was very comforting. They peeked at each other again, but they were in a much more serious atmosphere now. Eventually, Sasuke refused to look away and every time Naruto turned his way, the blonde would quickly turn and blush.

"Um, where here," Naruto stuttered.

Sasuke looked away from Naruto and was stunned at the sight he was greeted with.

In front of them was a wide lake surrounded by trees with an old wooden dock, but still looked very sturdy. The water was dark and black, hiding whatever secrets it had from the two and the world beneath its shadowy surface. Stars shined brightly, as they were far from the city, revealing every mystery Sasuke had never known, splashing the sky with beautiful pinks and purples, sparkles everywhere. The moon was full and reflected perfectly off the still, watery mirror. All in all, it was the most amazing sight he had ever seen, until he looked to his right to see Naruto in that metaphorical painting as well.

Naruto ran forward onto the dock and took off shoes and socks, rolled up his jeans, and stuck his feet in the water. Sasuke stood rooted in his spot. Seeing the smaller boy at the edge of the small pier almost brought tears to Sasuke's eyes, it was so stunning, but he blinked them away and followed Naruto's idea.

The two men sat and talked for a long time about their lives, their pasts, and their aspirations. He found out that the whisker-like marks were from a very strange biking accident, and he thought they were "kinda cool". Sasuke didn't argue. He loved the feline look they gave him.

Eventually the two fell into silence again, but a much more comfortable song than before. Sasuke took in the scenery around them before looking back at the man on his right. He sat, shocked.

If he thought Naruto was beautiful before, he was absolutely stunning now. Naruto's eyes stood out in a much brighter blue than before, making Sasuke completely incapable of looking away. His hair looked almost silver and it blew around beautifully with the slight wind.

"_Now's about as good a time as ever…"_

"Naruto…" Sasuke started.

"Yes?"

"That Sakura girl… Was she your girlfriend?"

What Naruto did was the exact opposite of what he expected. The blonde stared for a second or two before bursting out into a fit of laughter.

"HA HA HA! Sakura? My girlfriend?! Ha ha!" After Naruto settled down, he continued. "No, she's practically my sister. I've known her forever, she's my best friend. But no, she's not my girlfriend… I-I don't have one actually…" Naruto blushed and looked away, but not before peeking at Sasuke, an action that wasn't missed by him.

Without hesitation, Sasuke reached over and grabbed his chin, turning his face towards his. Naruto's face, even in the dark, was warm and beat red.

Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke's hands ran over his cheeks. He felt his warm, calloused hand slide over his "whiskers" and shuddered under the touch.

"Naruto… I-I don't have anyone to send a letter back home to…" Naruto simply stared at the raven, tears prickling the corners of his eyes. "Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?" Sasuke asked.

Shaking his head franticly, Naruto dove into Sasuke's arms, where he wrapped his arms around the small blonde. Naruto lifted his head up and looked into Sasuke's obsidian eyes. Suddenly, on his own free will, the blonde closed the small space between the two.

Sasuke simply sat there, too stunned to do anything but stay still. Naruto, feeling he had done something wrong, started to pull back, a strong sense of rejection taking over. But before he could get very far, Sasuke reached his hand behind the blonde and pulled him closer, reveling in the newfound warmth.

When they finally pulled apart, the two just sat together, just looking out over the lake, suddenly feeling an awkward silence come over them. What would happen now?

* * *

***shot***

**Dear Lord, that was cheesy!! Cute, but very cheesy!!**

**And by the way, if the ending sounded a bit confusing, I'm sorry. My laptop almost died on the way home and when I finally got home… I just kinda winged it… It didn't turn out too bad, but I it could've turned out much better. But anyway, I left it on that bit of a cliff-hanger because this is going to be a 2 or 3-shot. If I put the whole thing in one chapter, it would've taken too long, not to mention it would've been even cheesier than this.**

**So yesh, reviews make my day!! They are my encouragement and my brain-food!!**

**-TGOMO**


	2. Chapter 2

**Merry Christmas? *shot***

**Disclaimer: Me: I can never get a break, can I?**

**Kishi: Boot to the head!**

**And another thing… um… *holds shield in front of body* Don't hurt me!!!!**

* * *

If you were to stand across the street of this house, you would see a blond haired man staring longingly out of it.

"_It's been three weeks already," _Naruto thought sullenly. He puffed out a bit of smoke from his lungs before stabbing the cigarette butt into the tray. Now, Naruto rarely ever smoked; only doing so when he was feeling anxious and antsy, which was how he was feeling right now. But had he no right?

Sasuke had kept his promise and had written to him as soon as he got to his station abroad. Naruto immediately replied and they wrote to each other back and fourth ever sense for five months.

The blonde had received his greatest surprise on Christmas when he opened his door to see his raven love in all his camouflaged glory. The two didn't exchange gifts because Naruto had no inkling that Sasuke was coming home for the holidays, but they had exchanged something much greater; something Naruto would never have given up for the world and would never allow himself to receive willingly from anyone else.

But Naruto had been waiting much longer than he was comfortable with, and while he didn't want his mind to stray to that conclusion, he couldn't help but think the worst.

He suddenly perked his head at hearing the hum of an engine and stared out the window in hopeful excitement. Upon seeing that the misleading noise was one of a normal –and disappointing- car driving down the street, Naruto placed his head back into his left hand while the right twitched toward the box of cigarettes beside him.

_Where is the God damn mailman?!_

A wave of exhaustion suddenly slapped him in the face as he fought to keep his eyes glued to the mailbox, so hard if fact that he hadn't even realized that he had already lost the battle as he slumped onto the couch.

* * *

_Fuck!_

Normally when he first woke up, Naruto's thoughts would consist of confusion, exhaustion, need for _bodily functions_, frustration, or a jumbled mixture of the four. Today, upon waking up to see the sky a light navy with a mild dusting of stars signifying that he had fallen asleep much longer than intended, his mind was a bit clearer than usual, if not a bit more rash.

Snapping upwards, Naruto stood and ran out the door, ignoring the sense of vertigo and blood rushing out of his head. The blonde sprinted down the drive way until he skidded in front of the mailbox. As he yanked open the lid almost breaking it off its hinges in his haste, he pulled out an assortment of envelopes and other papers before charging back into the house.

When Naruto made it to the kitchen, he tossed the mail onto the table and began his blind search for one envelope in particular. He threw aside bills and magazines only to find that that was all that was there. Starring at the table with ice running threw his veins, Naruto's eyes started to sting with unshed tears before quickly wiping them away and collecting the fallen mail. He placed them back onto the table before heading back up to his room.

Opening the door, he was greeted but a sudden burst of chilling air. Naruto quickly ran to the open window and slammed it shut before running his hands up and down his arms in hopes of gaining even a slight amount of friction.

_Of course I'd be much warmer if Sas_-

Shaking his head to clear that thought, Naruto walked slowly into the bathroom. He stripped himself of his clothes before hopping into the inviting heat of the water spraying from the shower head, letting the water caress his skin.

After spending about in hour under the steaming water, he put on his sweat pants and walked back into his room and pulled back the sheets. Before he settled down, he glanced at his nightstand and stared and the picture that rested on top of it. Naruto felt a sharp tug at his heart.

Behind a sheet of glass held a picture of him and Sasuke that Tsunade had taken before the raven left; Naruto had his arms around Sasuke's neck with his head on his chest, a soft, solemn expression. Sasuke had one arm around the blonde's waist and the other on the back of his head, his expression torn, yet peaceful as well.

Naruto picked up the picture and sat down on his bed. He simply stared at it for what seemed like hours but could very well have just been a few minutes, before breaking down. Clutching the picture to his chest, Naruto fell onto his bed with a strangled cry, tears streaming down his face.

"Sasuke, where are you!?"

After a while, Naruto took a deep breath, but didn't relinquish his hold on the picture. It was the best Naruto had to his Sasuke.

_Sasuke would want me to be strong. I want to be strong…_

Naruto knew this was what came with falling in love with a soldier, but the idea of losing him every day left a large amount of weight on his shoulders. He worried about Sasuke every day, even crying himself to sleep because of it. But even though he was always thinking about him, he still lived his life the way he should. He went out with his friends, he still worked at the diner, just with less hours.

But still, he missed him. Can you blame him?

* * *

"Yes, Tsunade, I can still come in. I'm fine."

Tsunade sighed on the other end of the phone. "I'm just worried about you, Naruto. I can tell you haven't really been the same sense… Yeah."

Naruto quirked his eyebrow a bit, even though she couldn't see it, before sighing. _I thought I hid it well enough…_

"I know, Tsunade, but I can't let that keep me from doing everything and basically giving up my life for worry. I don't want that. He won't either."

The other line was silent for a few seconds. "Okay, Naruto. But tell me if you need time, okay?" she said with a concerning edge in her voice.

Naruto laughed heartily. "You're just a real worry-wart, ya' old hag! I'll be in tomorrow bright and early."

"Alright, Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow."

Naruto hung up the phone before taking a seat back by the window, pulling another cigarette out.

Lighting the stick, he turned on the T.V. to the channel that it was on almost everyday now: The news. He would watch it for hours as they talked about the war and the soldiers. Everyday he would clutch something, _anything_, when they listed off those who were now lost. Everyday he would be relieved to know that Sasuke's name was left unmentioned. But everyday he would fret that he would; there was a very likely chance of that, anyway.

Glancing back at the window, his eyes suddenly became saucers as he saw a large, square truck pull up by his house. Snuffing out the cigarette, he rushed outside to greet the mailman. After the truck left, Naruto did what he did everyday and threw it all onto the table.

His hand froze as he saw that the first letter in the stack was from the U.S. army. Swiping it away from the rest of the stack, he rushed into the living room and sat on the couch. Naruto clutched the envelope in his hand, which held the contents telling him what fate had in store.

Letting out a deep breath, Naruto tore open the paper before spilling the contents onto his lap.

And out tumbled an army dog-tag.

Naruto only stared at the necklace before a sinking feeling settled in his stomach. He didn't know what this meant, so he swiftly yanked the letter from his lap.

Upon reading the letter, Naruto stared. He didn't know what to think. His brain froze.

And he cried.

"_A soldiers coming home."_

* * *

**And this is why ADHD is Satan.**

***dodges thrown knives and boots***

**HEY! Before you start throwing things at me, make up your own conclusion to Sasuke's fate and Naruto's tears about whether they were happy or sad!!!**

**Now don't you feel silly? Tsk tsk, silly readers. XD *gets hit with a tomato***

**I wasn't sure how I wanted to end this, kill him off or keep him alive. So I decided to end it on a "The Giver" note to make things simple. (You'd have to have read the book "The Giver" to understand what that means.) Even I don't know what Sasuke's fate was. *shrugs***

**Now back to the evils of ADHD.**

**I see a bit of a downfall from the first chapter to this one. When I was in my grandma's car, I had nothing else to do, so I was FOCUSED!!**

**Now I'm home with Internet… That speaks for itself. *nervous laughter* It also seems to be a bit more angsty… I'm no good at angst… Am I? *ponders***

**So I'm sorry if this took a major U-turn than what you thought was going to happen. I was distracted by finals and such… **

**Naruto: You were on the Internet more than half the time!  
**

**Me: MUST I cut you off again?**

**Naruto: I'll be quiet.**

**Thanks everyone and I hope you like it!! Reviews will be nice. ;3**

**-TGOMO**


	3. Playlist

**Playlist**

**Traveling Soldier- Dixie Chicks**

**The Last Night- Skillet**

**Don't Wake Me- Skillet**

**Say Goodbye- Skillet**

**Over and Under- Egypt Central**

**One Day Too Late- Skillet**

**Never Surrender- Skillet**

**Would It Matter- Skillet**

**Up All Night- Hinder**

**Lucy- Skillet**

* * *

**Thank you everyone for reading my story!! I am actually proud of myself! Maybe this is a sign I can actually finish a story that has more than 1 chapter… *shifty eyes* **

**-TGOMO**


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